Hacker News with Generative AI: Computer Science

Cursed fire or #define black magic (ssloy.github.io)
Have you ever wondered whether it is possible to write fully functional code using only the #define directive in C?
C Programming, Programming Languages, Code Optimization, Computer Science, Hacks
31 points by davikr 16 hours ago | 4 comments
Relaxed Radix Balanced Trees (2024) (horne-khan.com)
I’m adding immutable vectors to my language, Ivan, and needed to pick a suitable data structure to implement them.
Data Structures, Programming Languages, Computer Science
173 points by jasonjmcghee 1 day ago | 15 comments
Tensor evolution: A framework for fast tensor computations using recurrences (arxiv.org)
This paper introduces a new mathematical framework for analysis and optimization of tensor expressions within an enclosing loop.
Mathematics, Optimization, Computer Science, Tensor Operations
52 points by matt_d 2 days ago | 16 comments
Catalytic computing taps the full power of a full hard drive (quantamagazine.org)
Ten years ago, researchers proved that adding full memory can theoretically aid computation. They’re just now beginning to understand the implications.
Quantum Computing, Computer Science, Memory
75 points by sonabinu 2 days ago | 16 comments
XOR (greenend.org.uk)
Recently I was called on to explain the ‘XOR’ operator to somebody who vaguely knew of its existence, but didn’t have a good intuition for what it was useful for and how it behaved.
Logic, Programming, Computer Science, Binary Operations
574 points by mariuz 2 days ago | 93 comments
This New Algorithm for Sorting Books or Files Is Close to Perfection (wired.com)
Computer scientists often deal with abstract problems that are hard to comprehend, but an exciting new algorithm matters to anyone who owns books and at least one shelf.
Algorithms, Computer Science, Organization, Data Structures
10 points by f_allwein 2 days ago | 6 comments
Native Sparse Attention: Hardware-Aligned, Natively Trainable Sparse Attention (arxiv.org)
Long-context modeling is crucial for next-generation language models, yet the high computational cost of standard attention mechanisms poses significant computational challenges.
Sparse Attention, Machine Learning, Hardware, Computer Science
15 points by mfiguiere 3 days ago | 2 comments
Ask HN: What fiction/non-fiction book should everyone read on the topic of CS? (ycombinator.com)
This should be interpreted in the broadest sense to include books like both American Kingpin and Practical Vim as examples.
Computer Science, Books, Recommendations, Fiction, Non-Fiction
26 points by Eavolution 3 days ago | 24 comments
Reasoning Without Hesitating: Efficient Cot Through Certainty Probing (hao-ai-lab.github.io)
We observe reasoning models often exhibit poor token efficiency: they waste many tokens second-guessing themselves. We develop Dynasor-CoT, a certainty-based approach for dynamically allocating inference compute for reasoning models.
Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science
20 points by ginda307 3 days ago | 5 comments
EnigmaEval: A Benchmark of Long Multimodal Reasoning Challenges (arxiv.org)
As language models master existing reasoning benchmarks, we need new challenges to evaluate their cognitive frontiers.
Artificial Intelligence, Benchmarking, Research, Computer Science
17 points by apsec112 3 days ago | 0 comments
Books by Niklaus Wirth (hansotten.com)
Niklaus Wirth is a gifted writer. His easy to read style and the simplicity that must have taken so much effort to achieve makes his books jewels in the often so obscure computer science world.
Computer Science, Books, Programming
7 points by andsoitis 3 days ago | 0 comments
(Ab)using general search algorithms on dynamic optimization problems (2023) (dubovik.eu)
In retrospect, my most ambitious blog yet. As it goes, I was reading “Artificial Intelligence. A Modern Approach” the other day. In one of the earlier chapters the authors discuss general search algorithms: breadth-first search, depth-first search, uniform-cost search (Dijkstra), and variations of those. A bit later they also cover Monte Carlo tree search as a way of finding approximate solutions in big state spaces.
Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Optimization, Search
41 points by h45x1 3 days ago | 4 comments
My Time at MIT (blogspot.com)
Twenty years ago, in 2004-2005, I spent a year at MIT’s Computer Science department as a postdoc working with Professor Nancy Lynch.
MIT, Computer Science, Academia, Personal Experiences
181 points by rrampage 4 days ago | 78 comments
Show HN: A GPU-accelerated binary vector index (rlafuente.com)
GPU Acceleration, Vector Index, Search, Computer Science
64 points by andes314 4 days ago | 7 comments
Are LLMs able to play the card game Set? (github.com/vnglst)
Card Games, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science
43 points by vnglst 5 days ago | 30 comments
The Joy of Nand2Tetris (tristanrhodes.com)
For the last month, I have been working through Nand2Tetris: The Elements of Computing Systems; Building a Modern Computer from First Principles.
Computer Science, Programming, Education, Hardware, Educational Resources
160 points by partypete 6 days ago | 41 comments
Ask HN: Seeking Book (ycombinator.com)
Hello All,<p>Many years ago I came across a book from a female Researcher which was basically using low-level mathematics to model low-level type 'circuits' or 'functions'. Not circuits in the electrical sense but I do know this researcher eventually did work for some Intelligence Agencies as part of extensions to her work. Problem I have is I have searched high and low via various search engines though with proliferation of AI texts it has increased the noise level.
Mathematics, Computer Science, Intelligence Agencies, Books, Research
8 points by grostiq 6 days ago | 2 comments
How do modern compilers choose which variables to put in registers? (stackexchange.com)
How do modern compilers choose which variables to put in registers?
Compilers, Programming, Optimization, Computer Science, Assembly Language
396 points by azeemba 6 days ago | 65 comments
What if Eye...? (eyes.mit.edu)
We created a virtual petri dish where digital creatures evolve eyes from scratch, replaying millions of years of evolution.
Evolution, Artificial Intelligence, Biology, Computer Science
409 points by smusamashah 7 days ago | 91 comments
Why cryptography is not based on NP-complete problems (blintzbase.com)
Cryptography is not based on NP-complete problems - let me explain why.
Cryptography, Computer Science, Complexity Theory
120 points by blintz 8 days ago | 55 comments
Questioning the Criteria for Evaluating Non-Cryptographic Hash Functions (cacm.acm.org)
Computing practitioners encounter hash functions almost every day, although they may not necessarily be the center of attention.
Hash Functions, Computer Science, Cryptography
47 points by todsacerdoti 8 days ago | 9 comments
Basis of the Kalman Filter [pdf] (github.com/tpn)
Understanding the Basis of the Kalman Filter Via a Simple and Intuitive Derivation (2012).pdf
Kalman Filter, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science
239 points by fzliu 8 days ago | 37 comments
Tiny Pointers (arxiv.org)
This paper introduces a new data-structural object that we call the tiny pointer.
Computer Science, Data Structures, Research Papers
163 points by levzettelin 8 days ago | 35 comments
The biggest microcode attack in our history is underway (theregister.com)
When your state machines are vulnerable, all bets are off
Security, Cybersecurity, Microcode, Computer Science, State Machines
18 points by LorenDB 10 days ago | 3 comments
Scaling up test-time compute with latent reasoning: A recurrent depth approach (arxiv.org)
We study a novel language model architecture that is capable of scaling test-time computation by implicitly reasoning in latent space.
Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science
149 points by timbilt 10 days ago | 43 comments
Undergraduate shows that searches within hash tables can be much faster (quantamagazine.org)
A young computer scientist and two colleagues show that searches within data structures called hash tables can be much faster than previously deemed possible.
Computer Science, Algorithms, Hash Tables
1303 points by Jhsto 10 days ago | 582 comments
An Infinitely Large Napkin [pdf] (2019) (venhance.github.io)
Mathematics, Computer Science, Research Papers, PDFs
193 points by Qision 10 days ago | 33 comments
Baffled by generational garbage collection – wingolog (wingolog.org)
Usually in this space I like to share interesting things that I find out; you might call it a research-epistle-publish loop. Today, though, I come not with answers, but with questions, or rather one question, but with fractal surface area: what is the value proposition of generational garbage collection?
Programming, Garbage Collection, Computer Science, Software Development
141 points by todsacerdoti 11 days ago | 121 comments
Regex is almost all you need (lookingatcomputer.substack.com)
When it comes to secret detection, regex is all you need. Almost.
Regex, Programming, Computer Science, Text Processing
13 points by addams 12 days ago | 0 comments
Demystifying Long Chain-of-Thought Reasoning in LLMs (arxiv.org)
Scaling inference compute enhances reasoning in large language models (LLMs), with long chains-of-thought (CoTs) enabling strategies like backtracking and error correction.
Generative AI, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Reasoning
11 points by Anon84 12 days ago | 0 comments